Eve of the
National Day of Thanksgiving
November 23, 2022
Text: 1 Timothy 2:1-4
The
Second Commandment, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,”[1] is so much more than the
prohibitions. It is true, “We should
fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or
deceive by His name.” We should not use
the Holy Name of God, or the Name of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ, as an exclamation
or a mindless interjection. But we should
use it. Not to use God’s Name is
as much a misuse as using it improperly.
Behind every prohibition in the Commandments is a gift from God to be
used according to His will and purpose.
God’s Name is the gift behind the Second Commandment. In Holy Baptism, God gives us His Name. He places it upon us, writes it on our bodies. And not so that we can put it up on a shelf
somewhere, like some sort of relic, to be marveled at, but essentially left
alone. He wants us to use it. So, how should we use it? In the Small Catechism, Dr. Luther
tells us, we should “call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give
thanks.”
Our
Epistle reading from St. Paul this evening is therefore an admonition to
fulfill the Second Commandment. “First
of all,” he says, as a matter of first importance, “supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings” should “be made for all
people” (1 Tim. 2:1; ESV). All
people. No exceptions. So, what does this mean? Pray!
Pray for all people and all things, everywhere, and always. Pray for your own needs. Pray for your family. Pray for your pastor, your congregation, and
your Church body. Pray for those with
whom you interact in your daily life, your friends, your colleagues, your
neighbors, and acquaintances. Invoke
God’s Name on their behalf. Speak their
names before God, commending to God whatever troubles or needs you may know
for which they need His help.
And
this is true, also, for your enemies. “Love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Jesus says (Matt.
5:44). And if that is true for enemies
who are out to get you, then it is certainly true for those who aren’t so much
enemies, as maybe antagonists.
People you find difficult to deal with.
Maybe they drive you crazy. Maybe
they are insensitive, or say or do mean things to you. Maybe they’ve hurt you, and your relationship
with them is broken. This is, perhaps, a
good tip as we enter the season of holiday office parties and family
gatherings. Trust me on this, I’ve seen
it myself… or better, trust God, because here He says it: Pray for them. Pray that God would bless them. Pray that God would help them. Pray that God would heal whatever it is that
is broken between you and that person.
You may just find that your antagonist turns, that their heart is
changed toward you, that they treat you better, that they repent. And you will most assuredly find that you
turn, that your heart is changed toward them, so that you love them as
you should, in spite of it all, so that you repent.
But
in our text, St. Paul gets specific. You
are especially to pray for kings and for all who are in high positions (1 Tim.
2:2). You are to pray for the president,
for the governor, for your congressmen, legislators, judges, and
magistrates. You are to pray for
government bureaucrats, law enforcement, your boss, and your teacher at
school. Children, you should pray for
your mom and dad. Grown-ups, you should
pray for your mom and dad if they are still living (and especially for your
in-laws!). You should pray for everyone
to whom you have a Fourth Commandment responsibility, anyone in any authority
over you. After all, don’t you think
they need your prayers? Especially if
you don’t like their policies. Then you
really need to pray for them. Seriously. It’s more important even than writing
letters. Frankly, it’s more important
than voting. As important as those
things may be, the Scriptures don’t command you to write letters or to vote,
but they do command you to pray. Those
in authority over you are God’s representatives on earth. Whether they know it or not. Whether they believe it or not. Whether act like it or not. So we need to pray for them, that they would
execute their task faithfully, according to God’s will, and for our good.
St.
Paul says that we should do this so that “we may lead a peaceful and quiet
life, godly and dignified in every way” (v. 2). That is why God has given authority to
men. To keep peace and order, so that
His Christians may live godly lives, and that we may preach! Because God our Savior desires all people
to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (vv. 3-4). We know that earthly authorities don’t always
do a good job of maintaining peace and order, and all-too-often they are not
interested in allowing us to live godly lives and preach the Gospel. So we need to pray! Ask God.
Pray for their repentance. Pray for
their faithful leadership. Pray that God
would grant them wisdom and integrity.
It does absolutely no good to sit around complaining and despising
earthly authorities. I’m as guilty of
that as the next guy, but we must repent. Who can move a heart? Who can change a mind? Who can lead a stubborn unbeliever to
repentance and faith? God can. And He wants to! So, ask Him!
Ask Him on behalf of the authorities.
Ask Him on behalf of all people.
That is, after all, what you do when you pray, “Thy Kingdom come.”
Have
you ever thought about what unparalleled comfort this verse brings, that God
our Savior wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the
truth? There is not a human being on
earth, or in history, that God doesn’t want to come to faith and be His
own. Now, there is this great,
perplexing mystery of why, if that is true, so many do not come
to faith, and are not saved. God
does not reveal the answer to that mystery, and there comes a point where you
need to put a finger to your lips and stop inquiring into things God has not
given you to know. In particular, you
have crossed that point when you begin to object to the things God has
revealed because you don’t understand them, or because you don’t like the
implications. Just be quiet at that
point, and let God be God, and you be His trusting servant. But so also, just pause here a minute and bathe
in the comfort of what God does reveal in this verse. He wants all people to be saved. That means He wants you to be
saved. And your children and
grandchildren. And your unbelieving
neighbor. And, yes, your antagonist, and
even your enemy. And, yes, the
president, and all politicians, kings, and all who are in high positions. All people.
And
He doesn’t just want it. He
doesn’t just sit around in heaven hoping by some miracle that it will
happen. No, no. He gives His Son. God incarnate. Jesus Christ.
Into the death of the cross.
Bearing our sin. Making atonement
for our transgressions. Reconciling
sinners to the Father. By His resurrection,
healing what is broken. Raising us from
death. Giving us eternal life. This is why our text calls Him, “God our
Savior” (v. 3). By His Word and Holy
Sacraments, He breathes into us His Holy Spirit. That we be brought to a knowledge of the truth. That we be brought to saving faith in
Christ. It is because God wants
us to be saved, that we are. He
gets all the credit. He does it
all. He saves us. He gives us faith. Don’t ask why some are not saved. We know God wants them to be saved, and that
they are not by their own fault. But
just rejoice in this. God wants you
to be saved. And you are. You believe.
By God’s grace. Through Jesus
Christ. By the working of His Holy
Spirit. And as for the rest… keep
praying, and keep preaching. God hears
your prayers, and He acts, even through your preaching, through your confession
of faith, because you belong to Him, bought by the precious blood of Jesus
Christ.
And
that is why on this day, and every day, we cannot help but give thanks. We should call upon God’s Name in every
trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.
Paul says that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings
should be made for all people. Thank
God for His love for you, His desire to save you, and His accomplishing it
through Jesus Christ, His Son. Thank
God that you are baptized into Christ, and that He has given you His Holy
Spirit, to bring you to a knowledge of the truth, and sustain you by His Word
and Supper in the saving Christian faith.
Thank God for all the great gifts He continually pours out on
you, for making you and all creatures, for giving you your body and soul, eyes,
ears, and all your members, your reason and all your senses, and that He still
takes care of them. Thank God
that He also gives you clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home,
family, friends, vocations, and all that you need to support this body
and life, and so much more that you don’t need, but that He gives you
anyway, for your blessing and enjoyment.
Thank God that He defends you against all danger and guards and
protects you from all evil. And thank
God that He does all of this only out of fatherly, divine goodness and
mercy, without any merit or worthiness in you.
He does it for Jesus’ sake. Therefore,
it is your duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is no burden, but it is most certainly
true.
And,
beloved, thank God that He does this, not just for you. For all people. Thank God on behalf of all those
people, some of whom don’t know to thank God themselves. It is your priestly work to thank God in
their stead, in their place. And then,
thank God for those people. That
is part of your prayers for them. And it
just might turn them. It will most
certainly turn you. Thank God
for all those people you love to love.
Thank God for all those people who are difficult to love, and love them
anyway. And call upon God for them. God has given you His Name for this very
purpose. Use it. Use it well.
And live in it confidently, and with great thanksgiving. So let’s do it now. Let’s trace the sign of the holy cross upon
our bodies and, with great thanksgiving, invoke that Name upon ourselves, and
for the sake of all people: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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